Best gpu for my old machine...

[skipsneeky2]

Dont bother with Hybrid CF at this time, R7 360 is much better.

You can see the review in my sig bellow.

I will say i got a lot of respect for someone like you who puts much of their time into reviewing stuff the majority of people just wouldn't blink a eye at.I found out just how awesome the lower end APU series is right up the 7650k.My favorite of course being the 5400k and 7600.

If the Op is honestly trying saving as much as possible,something as low as a 5400k should be a considerable upgrade in itself right over the x2 3800?The majority of cheap refurbished oem towers with C2D/C2Q are plagued with highly outdated x4500 intel onboard at best.

 

[Leyawiin]

Dont upgrade it at all. If you're doing a real build, its just money down the drain. It works as-is, and thats what you want for a backup. If you change things it might not work, and what good is that as a back up?

Seriously, I own almost the exact same system and nothing you can do to it will help much where almost any game newer than 2008 is concerned. It chokes on everything but Torchlight II. It can't even run Fallout 3 for beans and its seven years old. As I've said, I've tried three different GPUs (GTX 650, R7 360 and GTX 750 Ti) and it performs more or less the same with any of them. Terrible bottleneck. Take the $50+ dollars and squirrel it away for the new PC he's planning in nine months.

 

[AgentNein]

Yeah, in this situation I'd just hold off to build another computer from scratch. I don't think upgrading will matter at this point, especially with that PSU. You could max it out with a 4800+ and maybe a 750Ti, but I don't know if they'll mix and match well together.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Yes I am going to actually buy a whole new pc next September, just trying to improve this one as much as I can for now...and i did just finish reading your discussion on another thread about the gt740 and hd6970, and did learn a bit from reading that..so I will look into the r9 270, thank you

R9 270 should be ideal for you. I upgraded recently an old box similar to yours. No issues playing Far Cry 4 at low/mid settings. Here's the benchmark I made with his Athlon X2 rig (all the entries except for the Intel graphics obviously):

 

[cbn]

I would sell the CPU+Motherboard+Ram+GPU and

Get a A8-7650K + Motherboard + 2400MHz ram
You will have a new platform with a Quad Core CPU + way faster graphics than what you have now. You will also have DX-12 support and you could upgrade to a dGPU next year for a new 14/16nm dGPU.

A8-7650K = $100

ASUS A68HM-K FM2+ = $30 AR
Free DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX 400 CPU Cooler w/ purchase, limited offer

G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-2400C11D-8GAB = $30


Total = $160

With the extra heat-sink you can OC the iGPU to 900-960MHz and increase the iGPU performance by 10-20% easily in many games.

He will need a new Operating system too, unless the one he has is a retail license.

(This also assuming the case and PSU, can be reused)

 

[cbn]

If the Op is honestly trying saving as much as possible,something as low as a 5400k should be a considerable upgrade in itself right over the x2 3800?The majority of cheap refurbished oem towers with C2D/C2Q are plagued with highly outdated x4500 intel onboard at best.

Here are the results of A6-5400K (with dGPU) vs. middle of the road 65nm Core 2 duo (with dGPU) in two games I tested:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37665230&postcount=69

CPU wise, those dual core piledriver APUs are not that strong.

P.S. Also remember C2D/C2Q PCs whether tower or SFF can take dGPU. (In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the HD3850 is faster than the A6-5400K iGPU.... at least in ARMA III....but he would need a tower form factor he reused that card)

 

[skipsneeky2]

Here are the results of A6-5400K (with dGPU) vs. middle of the road 65nm Core 2 duo (with dGPU) in two games I tested:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37665230&postcount=69

CPU wise, those dual core piledriver APUs are not that strong.

Its a upgrade but a very lousy one at that.Maybe counting the difference between the x2 3800 and the E6550 maybe at best a 50% difference?

Surprised with such a low end card that there ended up being a difference between those 2 cpus with that high of a resolution.I know i had ran a E5200 for a short time not to long ago and it was about worthless for anything outside of browsing and older pre 2008 games.

 

[cbn]

Surprised with such a low end card that there ended up being a difference between those 2 cpus with that high of a resolution.

Those games are very light on the GPU though.

I know i had ran a E5200 for a short time not to long ago and it was about worthless for anything outside of browsing and older pre 2008 games.

E5200 or E6550 would not be the CPU I recommend using.

If he really needed to use C2D, there are very cheap Windows 7 E8400 SFF machines on Arrow direct $73 shipped (minus 15% off with coupon code = ~ $62 shipped).

Even the E8500 are dirt cheap now. (Starts @ $9 shipped on ebay buy it now listings)

 

[skipsneeky2]

Even the E8500 are dirt cheap now. (Starts @ $9 shipped on ebay buy it now listings)

I ended up putting a Q6600 for cheap in there.WOT and CSGO went from barely playable to smooth.Had to lower certain settings mostly ones that bogged down the cpu but it worked perfectly for 1024x768 with a 9500gt anyways.

A cheap Dell oem could work if you drop in a quad,i know from testing my cousins 970 worked right out the box with that old G33 in mine so anything Nvidia outside of maybe the 950 certainly should have compatibility.

 

[Rannar]

i had similar OCd 3800 s939+ HD3850 system
was looking long time for a potential CPU+GPU upgrade until i realized it was not worth it anymore. any upgrade would still be too slow.

Went in the end for i3 4160+ gf750 and was not dissapointed.

recommend to wait until you are ready for full system overhaul